page_title: Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)
section_title: Civilian impact
hierarchical_section_title: Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present) / Impact / Civilian impact
caption_attribution_description: Protest in London against Turkish military and war against Kurdish people in Syria
context_page_description: In late July 2015, the third phase of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict between various Kurdish insurgent groups and the Turkish government erupted, following a failed two and a half year-long peace process aimed at resolving the long-running conflict.
  The conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party broke out again in summer 2015 following two-year-long peace negotiations. These began in late 2012, but failed to progress in light of the growing tensions on the Turkish-Syrian border in late 2014, when the Turkish state prevented its Kurdish citizens from sending support to the People's Protection Units who were fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant during the Siege of Kobani. Turkey was accused of assisting the Islamic State during the siege, resulting in the widespread 2014 Kurdish riots in Turkey involving dozens of fatalities. The tensions further escalated in summer 2015 with the July 20 bombing in Suruç. On July 21, the PKK reportedly carried out a revenge attack and killed a Turkish soldier and wounded two more in Adıyaman.
context_section_description: According to Turkish Human Rights Foundation, there have been 52 intermittent curfews in seven predominantly Kurdish towns where 1.3 million people live, sometimes lasting as long as 14 days. The organization puts the civilian death toll since the summer of 2015 at 124.  The situation in the South-East has little coverage in the Turkish media. The authorities have enforced a blockade over the region and have shut down both cell phone coverage and the internet. Hundreds of houses, dozens of schools and official buildings have been damaged by artillery and gun fire from militants, and civilians have been reportedly fired at. Turkish Forces have used measures like tank fire to clear out bomb-trapped barricades which lead to damage of residential buildings. It is estimated that more than 200,000 people have been displaced. According to the HRW, civilian death toll is around 100. Diyarbakir branch of the Human Rights Association said Turkish Armed Forces and Gendarmerie was targeting civilians under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Many residents in the southeastern cities have been trapped without food or electricity as clashes between Kurdish militants and Turkish security forces have intensified. In December 2015, town of Cizre, was under curfew for more than two weeks, with mounting civilian casualties. According to a teacher from the district of Silopi, some residential buildings were damaged by tank shells.
caption: Protest in London, 31 March 2018
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